Once Upon a Time's Josh Dallas: Will the Residents of Storybrooke Go Back to Fairy Tale Land?

Ever since the curse was broken, it's been a hot topic up for discussion: When will the residents of Storybrooke find a way to return to fairy tale land?As we saw earlier this season on Once Upon a Time, fairy ...

By TV Guide

Sussex Countian

By TV Guide

Posted Feb. 8, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Feb 8, 2013 at 8:20 AM

By TV Guide

Posted Feb. 8, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Feb 8, 2013 at 8:20 AM

Ever since the curse was broken, it's been a hot topic up for discussion: When will the residents of Storybrooke find a way to return to fairy tale land?

As we saw earlier this season on Once Upon a Time, fairy tale land is no longer as magical as it once was. Now a desolate land overrun by ogres, it isn't really much of a home for Storybrooke townsfolk to go back to. Still, it won't stop them from trying - especially when they face a giant problem in this Sunday's episode, airing 8/7c on ABC.

Anton the giant (Jorge Garcia) returns this week, ready to wreak havoc after a case of mistaken identity sets him hellbent on destroying David (Josh Dallas). But it's David who just may be the key to getting our favorite fairy tale characters home. How's that, you ask? TVGuide.com turned to Dallas to find out:

The giant has mistaken David for someone else. Could it be his twin brother James? Josh Dallas: It's possible! He's definitely being mistaken for someone. Of course, Cora is in Storybrooke and she's found an ingenious way to transport a giant onto a pirate ship and brings him to Storybrooke. Upon meeting David, he has a very violent hello. It's now David's quest to figure out, first of all, who Anton thinks he's is. He's got a pretty good idea who might know. Then, as Anton is wreaking his vengeance and havoc upon the town and residents of Storybrooke, David is trying to convince him that this place isn't all that bad, and the people of the town aren't trying to hurt him. Indeed, this could be a place he ends up staying. We've got a lot going on in Storybrooke. We will also find out exactly what David/James/Charming's real name is.

Will we find out why Anton hates whoever he thinks David is? Dallas: We'll go back into fairy tale land past. We've already seen fairy tale land present, which is not a very hospitable place and is extremely desolate, so we'll go back into fairy tale land past into giant land where we see Anton and his brothers. Anton is feeling a little bit like a fish out of water, feeling like he doesn't quite belong. He's yearning for a place where he feels like he fits in, where he feels comfortable. Against his brothers' wishes, he goes down the beanstalk into the land of the humans and comes across a couple of humans who may not be all that they seem to him, whose intentions might not be wholly noble that might be the crux and the origin of this whole grudge that Anton is holding when he meets David in Storybrooke.

With Regina (Lana Parrilla) possibly siding with Cora (Barbara Hershey), how will the Charming family deal with that? Dallas: The Charming family has so much to deal with all the time. I keep saying this over and over and it's dawned on me lately that they're heroes and leaders and that, in a way, is a curse in itself a little bit. Because of that, their hopes, dreams and desires will be pushed aside every now and then in order for them to be heroes and help other people. There's all kinds of things going down in the town that always prevents, particularly David and Mary Margaret (Ginnifer Goodwin), from exploring and moving on and figuring out where their relationship is and where they belong. They're not only dealing with Cora in town, but also we have this mysterious stranger Greg (Ethan Embry) that has arrived and no one really knows who he is and what he wants. It's certainly somebody that Charming is going to keep his eye out for. It will slowly be revealed to you as the season goes on what his intentions are. In this episode on Sunday, we're going to see Greg grilling Belle (Emilie de Ravin) about what she actually saw at the car accident that night.

How will David feel about Emma (Jennifer Morrison) and Henry (Jared Gilmore) leaving Storybrooke with Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle)? Dallas: We're going to see Mr. Gold try to find his son and cross Storybrooke lines and he's taking Emma and Henry along with him to the airport. We'll see if he succeeds or not and what that reunion is like. David and Mary Margaret will be concerned, but the thing about Emma that David knows is that she's so capable with taking care of herself. Of course he worries because he loves her, but he knows that wherever she is, she's going to be able to handle herself.

Page 3 of 5 - You mentioned David and Mary Margaret trying to explore their new life. Once they do, fans are hoping there could be another baby in their future. Is that a possibility? Dallas: It's not anything that we've talked about as of yet with [co-creators Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz], but as far as I'm concerned, I think it would be just a beautiful thing. I think it would be something that the two characters really deserve, in a way, where they could go back and discover what that's like raising a child. It's what they wanted. That would be a big part of their happy ending as Snow White and Prince Charming. Who knows? I think it's a lovely idea.

Will we finally get to see David and Emma get a chance to bond? Dallas: As much as time allows them in Storybrooke. There's just so much happening. Of course, now she's going off on this adventure with Mr. Gold so they're going to be separated in that way. Cora is teaming up with Regina, so there's a lot of things happening. Hook is there too. He feels these fatherly feelings towards Emma, of course, all the time, although they're slightly disconnected because he's been separated from her her whole life. I don't think he ever wants to push it, push that fatherly thing on her. He respects her so much because he can understand what it would be like to be separated from your parents and not have that connection and that emptiness.

What about going back to fairy tale land? Will David try to sway the town to stay? Dallas: That's going to be an ongoing struggle, not only in David's mind, but in the relationship between Mary Margaret and David and trying to figure out exactly where they belong. There's a great scene at the end of Sunday's episode that I don't want to give away, but it's something there that's in the town that offers David, in particular, the hope of the possibility that they would be able to return. I think, for him, that's something that's really exciting because that's ultimately what he wants. He is a hero, he is the leader and he is an eternal optimist. Even though he hasn't seen it, he knows fairy tale land isn't what it once was. It's a horrible place now. But he feels that he can fix it, that he can make it what it was or even better. That's his hope. He wants his family back. He wants to go back home. He wants his kingdom again. He wants his world again, which is his core. I think he's going to continue to struggle with that idea of where he and his family belongs.

Page 4 of 5 - Should the residents of Storybrooke go back to fairy tale land?